Amritsar Festivals and Events 2026
Amritsar’s calendar is built around the Sikh year, and the Golden Temple is the center of nearly every date on it. The two biggest, Baisakhi and Guru Nanak Gurpurab, bring crowds heavy enough that a visit timed around either needs a booked room well ahead. See our full Amritsar guide for how a festival date changes the rest of a trip’s pacing.
2026 events at a glance
| Event | When | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Baisakhi | Mid-April | Golden Temple, citywide |
| Guru Gobind Singh Jayanti | Date shifts yearly (Nanakshahi calendar) | Golden Temple, gurdwaras citywide |
| Bandi Chhor Divas / Diwali | October-November | Golden Temple, illuminated |
| Guru Nanak Gurpurab | Early-mid November | Golden Temple, citywide |
| Lohri | 13 January | Citywide bonfires |
| Sri Ram Tirath mela | Annual, verify current dates | Sri Ram Tirath, outside the city |
Baisakhi, the Sikh new year with a dual weight
Baisakhi, in mid-April, marks the Sikh new year and the Punjabi harvest, and commemorates Guru Gobind Singh’s founding of the Khalsa order on 13 April 1699. It’s one of the Golden Temple’s biggest days for kirtan and langar. It’s worth knowing the date carries a second, heavier resonance in Amritsar specifically: the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre also took place on Baisakhi, so the same week holds both a joyful festival and a solemn anniversary side by side.
Guru Nanak Gurpurab, the birth of Sikhism’s founder
Falling on the Kartik Purnima full moon, typically early-to-mid November, Guru Nanak Gurpurab marks the birth of Sikhism’s founder. Celebrations include a 48-hour continuous scripture reading beginning two days prior, nagar kirtan processions, and the Akal Takht and Golden Temple illuminated, with observances at the temple running toward roughly 1:20am, the traditional birth hour.
Bandi Chhor Divas and Diwali, the temple at its most spectacular
Coinciding with the Hindu festival of Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas commemorates Guru Hargobind’s release from imprisonment at Gwalior Fort, alongside 52 Hindu princes he is said to have freed with him. The Golden Temple complex is illuminated with thousands of lights, with continuous kirtan, fireworks, and nagar kirtan processions, widely considered one of the most spectacular times to see the temple, festival or not.
Lohri, the midwinter bonfire festival
On 13 January, Lohri marks the passing of the winter solstice with community bonfires across Punjab, sesame seeds, gajak, peanuts, and jaggery thrown into the flames and shared among neighbors. It’s a lighter, more local affair than the temple’s own festival dates, worth catching if your trip lands in January.
When are Amritsar’s biggest crowds?
Baisakhi (mid-April) and Guru Nanak Gurpurab (November) draw the heaviest visitor numbers to the Golden Temple, alongside the general October-March peak season for weather. Booking a room well ahead matters more for these dates than for the rest of the year.
Is any Amritsar festival worth planning a whole trip around?
Bandi Chhor Divas, if seeing the Golden Temple fully illuminated is the priority; verify the current year’s exact date locally, since it follows the lunar Diwali calendar. See our Amritsar travel tips for the wider practical picture around any festival date.
One concrete tip: if your trip lands on or near Baisakhi, budget extra time at Jallianwala Bagh specifically. The date’s double meaning, harvest festival and massacre anniversary, is easy to miss if you only think of it as a celebration.